Ashley Johnson

Sam's Bio

Sam Effah | Canada Games Gold Medalist, Right to Play Ambassador, Amazing Race Canada Finalist
Keynote Speaker

As a native Albertan, Sam has speed. He represented Canada at 3 World Championships, 3 World University Games, 2 Commonwealth Games and was inducted into the 2021 Canada West Hall of Fame. Most recently, Sam was named co-Chef de Mission for the 2022.

As a volunteer, he’s an athlete ambassador with Right To Play and a past Classroom Champions mentor, where he focuses on using his platform to inspire the next generation of youth around the world.

In 2019 he was cast on The Amazing Race Canada Season 7 and placed second overall. 

Outside of athletics and in-office work, Sam loves to speak. He leads a strong stage presence, developed over the course of a ten-year career as a seminar speaker, workshop facilitator, and motivational presenter.

Learn More About Sam Effah

Kaleigh's Bio

Kaleigh Watson | Program Manager, Alberta WaterPortal Society 
Round Tables (Friday afternoon)

Kaleigh has a background in marketing and media, including photography, graphic design, web design, and video production. She joined the Alberta WaterPortal in 2021 and has been able to apply her mixed background by doing strategic business development activities, as well as leading the creation of articles, graphics, and videos on water management topics. In her spare time she enjoys reading and enjoying the natural environment by hiking or skiing.

Alberta WaterPortal Society

Jessica's Bio

Jessica Needham | Youth Advisory Council Coordinator, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Projects in Action Workshops (Saturday morning)

Jessica is currently the Youth Advisory Council Coordinator for Ducks Unlimited Canada. She has the privilege of working with youth from across Canada who are helping to shape the future of conservation and youth engagement at DUC. Jessica is also a part of the National Education Team at Ducks Unlimited Canada, where she helps to develop and deliver educational programming.

In recent years, Jessica has been conducting research on how to transform local knowledge into spatial data that can be used to help make conservation decisions. She completed the Master of Environmental Studies program and a BSc in Environmental Science at Dalhousie University.

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Pieter's Bio

Pieter Aukes | Professor, Integrated Water Management Program, SAIT 
Innovation Gallery (Saturday morning)

Pieter has a passion for working with water information in a digital world. With a research background in hydrogeology and arctic biogeochemistry, Pieter has always enjoyed being outside trying to understand how natural water and chemical cycles interact with each other. He looks for ways to create effective and engaging products to share these findings using a number of techniques, ranging from open-access tools to virtual-reality data rooms. When not working as an Instructor at SAIT for the Integrated Water Management Program, he can be found out on the trails (sometimes frantically keeping up with his toddler-on-bike).

SAIT Integrated Water Management Program